How to Defend Yourself in a Fight

It would be foolish to assume that only women are vulnerable to being attacked since they engage sexual assaults. Men are equally vulnerable to being assaulted and thus, it is better to get acquainted with some basic, self defence techniques that can be used without much training.

First Instincts: Be Impulsive, Kick, Slap & Shout

Understand that how you react in an emergency doesn’t need to be fancy or impressive. You merely need to be effective enough to protect yourself. Thus, when attacked suddenly, simply throw around your elbows, hands, knees and head at the attacker. Fling every object you can find in your vicinity at him. It is better to raise hell with your voice, shouting-out for help to attract the attention of people passing-by.

Breaking the Attacker’s Advance

When being attacked, the attacker’s wrists are probably going to be the first thing what will come your way. Thus, it makes sense to understand how the wrist or the hand can be weakened, giving you an instant advantage. Remember that the area around the thumb and the adjacent finger is the weakest. Thus, if the attacker is trying to pin you down or grab you, try to punch this part of his hand. This will immediately neutralize his attack and give you time to gather yourself.

Kicking the Attacker Away

Kicking is rather useful since your legs have more extension than your hands. Secondly, during most attacks, the attacker is least likely to grab you by the legs. You will always have the chance to stomp your leg on the assailant’s leg. This means raising your foot and kicking it downwards, using your heel. The heel carries the maximum thrust of your leg and when stomped with force, it can be very hurtful.

Scoring with Chin & Nose Strike

Many people don’t realize that throwing a punch isn't as natural and easy as it seems on the TV. Those who have never punched before are least likely to be familiar with the kind of damage it can induce on the wrist and fingers. It is much easier to startle the attacker by hurting his nose or chin with a slap-like stance of your palm. Yes, you can use an open palm rather than a punch for inducing some serious pain. Remember, you aren't exactly slapping but essentially throwing an open palm on the attacker’s chin or nose, with maximum thrust.

Going for the Neck

When you are trying to defend yourself, the idea isn't to dominate or be a hero but to neutralize the attack or hurt the assailant and protect yourself. Thus, you should attack body parts that can be hurt instantly. Thus, attacking the neck is recommended. You can use the thrust-type palm movement explained above or just dig your fingers into the neck of the assailant. When done for a few seconds, this seemingly simple maneuver can leave the assailant gasping for breath.

Aiming for the Eye

Attacking the eyes is the most natural, self defence reflex found among people who have been jumped from behind—this trend has a global prevalence. This is why women are often asked to keep a pepper spray in their spray. Hurting your enemy in the eye means that you have almost decapitated him for a few minutes. Once hurt badly in the eyes, it is nearly impossible to act in an aggressive manner. You don’t need any kind of training to do this. Any way in which you can poke the attacker in the eye, works just fine. Do it with some force and repeatedly to render him helpless. Strike, spit, poke or gouge the eyes—just do anything to take away the attacker’s vision.

The Groin Kick Always Works

This method needs the least explanation since it has been well documented that men, when kicked in the groin, tend to go down without a challenge. The groin kick can leave the assailant helpless for a few minute, giving you the leverage of time to either runaway or plan your escape strategy. A hard, destabilizing groin kick is best delivered with your knee or shin.

Target the Knee

Apart from the eyes and the groin, knees remain one of the most vulnerable parts of the human body. This is why aiming for the knee is advocated in self-defence classes. Whether you are a girl or a guy, it is relatively easy to kick your foe in the knee. This tends to throw the assailant off balance, allowing you to step back, take a breath and come back with another kick. (Special Features, MensXP.com)